Technique for effective organization and communication of information

ABSTRACT

In a communication arrangement in accordance with the invention, a server is employed to collect and organize information for mobile device users according to the user profiles, e.g., personal profile, business profile, vacation profile, etc., which reflect different user personae. By using this arrangement, the user advantageously maintains only the necessary information in the mobile device and downloads any additional information from the server on an as needed basis. In addition, the server is capable of serving mobile devices which may be incompatible to one another, thereby facilitating an exchange of information between such devices. Moreover, with the server, incoming messages for the user are organized and stored according to the source of the messages and the user criteria established in the user profiles. Further, information in a mobile device may be organized using electronic information cards, referred to as “E-cards,” which facilitate, among others, transfer of information from the mobile device to the server, or other mobile devices to conduct various commercial and data transactions.

[0001] This application claims the benefits under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) ofU.S. Provisional Application No. 60/221,628 filed on Jul. 28, 2000; U.S.Provisional Application No. 60/224,448 filed on Aug. 10, 2000; and U.S.Provisional Application No. 60/226,825 filed on Aug. 22, 2000.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0002] The invention relates to a communication system and method, andmore particularly to a system and method for providing communicationservices to a user through a server.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0003] Mobile devices such as personal communication systems (PCS) andpersonal digital assistants (PDA) have been developed to provide accessto the Internet and other network-type services. These devicesincorporate wireless communications and modem facilities, enabling auser to send and receive electronic mail (e-mail), or to upload anddownload data through the Internet. Similarly, wireless telephones havebeen adapted to receive and display textual messages.

[0004] However, users of the mobile devices have ever-increasing demandfor Internet access through a wireless communication network. Inresponse, more and more wireless communication bandwidth is allocated tosuch devices to access multimedia (text, audio and/or video) data fromthe Internet. As wireless communication bandwidth and data transferrates increase, the increase in the volume of data available to a mobiledevice quickly overwhelms the capacity of the mobile device. At the sametime, this flood of data also overwhelms a user as the user tries toeffectively utilize the data collected by the mobile device. Withoutproper organization and presentation of the collected data, useful andimportant data often goes unnoticed.

[0005] In addition, a user may use multiple mobile devices to conductdaily life. Typically, each mobile device has its own database. It isoften desirable that data collected in one database be replicated inother databases especially when the collected data is useful andimportant to the user. However, due to the incompatibility of thetraditional mobile devices, the data replication may only beaccomplished by data reentry or re-visiting of information sources.Disadvantageously, the data re-entry is oftentimes labor intensive, andthe re-visits are time consuming. Moreover, the user may not be able torecall the previous information sources from which the data wascollected, and even if the user is able to re-visit each of thoseinformation sources, the data there may have been revised because of thetime lag, thus frustrating the data replication effort.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0006] In accordance with the invention, a centralized communicationfacility, e.g., a server connected to one or more communicationnetworks, is employed to collect and organize information for a user ofa mobile device. For each user, the server collects and organizes theinformation based on user profiles that reflect different user personae.By collecting and organizing information according to the user profilesin the server, the operation of the mobile device is simplified. Inaddition, the amount of non-volatile memory required in the mobiledevice may be reduced, as most of the information is stored in theserver, instead. The mobile device obtains the necessary informationfrom the server on an as needed basis.

[0007] In addition, the server provides different protocol driverprograms for various mobile devices for communications with the server.This being so, the various incompatible mobile devices may share thesame information by efficiently downloading it from the server, therebyobviating the need of data re-entry or re-visits of information sourcesas in prior art. Specifically, during an initial handshake with theserver, the mobile device identifies itself to the server, which thendownloads the appropriate protocol driver program to the mobile devicefor its communications with the server.

[0008] In an illustrative embodiment, the aforementioned user profilesinclude, e.g., a personal profile and a business profile. A personalprofile reflects the user's personal persona, which includes personalinformation such as medical and financial records. A business profilereflects a user's business persona, which includes the user's businessrelated information such as the names of contacts with whom the userdoes business. A user may also establish alternative profiles thatreflect other user personae, e.g., vacation or travel profiles. Thesealternative profiles may include information that reflects a user'svacation or travel preferences, e.g., names and addresses of hotels,restaurants, airlines or airline schedules. This information may also becategorized by location, or by type of entertainment, e.g., theaters,cinemas, etc.

[0009] In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the servermay obtain, e.g., by searching a network of libraries, information itemsconcerning the location of, and directions to, selected businesses orservices. The information items may be presented in textual and/orgraphic format. The graphic format may include indications of thelocations of the selected businesses or services on navigation maps,which are downloaded for display onto the mobile device. The displayedbusiness or service information items may be selected based on a userprofile. Thus, the information items may include the names and locationsof restaurants, gas stations, places of interest, scenic viewing areas,etc.

[0010] In accordance with yet another aspect of the invention, theserver may be used to organize incoming messages to the user based onthe source of the messages and user criteria pre-established in the userprofiles. For example, the server may selectively perform messagestorage or call forwarding when the user is not available. In a messagestorage mode, messages may be identified by their source and storedaccording to the user specified criteria. The server may then providedifferent notifications to the user depending upon the source of themessages. In a call forwarding mode, calls originating from a partydesignated in a personal profile may be directed to a personal messagestorage area.

[0011] In accordance with still yet another aspect of the invention,electronic information cards, referred to as “E-cards,” may be used toorganize data in the mobile device and to exchange selected data betweenthe server and the mobile device. E-cards may contain information fromselected user profiles. For example, a personal E-card may containinformation items related to financial records, such as credit cardnumbers, bank accounts and balances from the user personal profile. Abusiness E-card may contain information items from the user businessprofile which are related to business. With the E-card arrangement,selective user information can be distributed among different recipientsin an efficient manner.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] Further aspects, features and advantages of the invention willbecome apparent from the following detailed description taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings showing illustrativeembodiments of the invention, in which;

[0013]FIG. 1 illustrates an arrangement in accordance with the inventionwhere a centralized communication server is used to help handle thecommunication needs of a mobile device user;

[0014]FIG. 2 illustrates an arrangement for transferring informationitems between a first mobile device user and a second mobile device userin accordance with the invention;

[0015]FIG. 3 illustrates exemplary functions performed by the server ofFIG. 1;

[0016]FIG. 4 illustrates profiles of the mobile device user stored in amemory in the server of FIG. 1;

[0017]FIG. 5 illustrates contents of the memory in the server of FIG. 1;

[0018]FIG. 6 illustrates a sequence of events after a mobile device isturned on to communicate with the server of FIG. 1;

[0019]FIG. 7 illustrates a database of a library server in accordancewith the invention;

[0020]FIG. 8 illustrates a directory page containing categories ofregistered businesses in accordance with the invention;

[0021]FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary display of a registered business;

[0022]FIG. 10 illustrates a display containing navigation information inaccordance with the invention;

[0023]FIG. 11 is a flow chart depicting the processing of e-mailmessages to the user in accordance with the invention;

[0024]FIG. 12 illustrates a dropped-down menu administered by an eventmanager in the mobile device in accordance with the invention;

[0025]FIG. 13 illustrates a personal communication device (PCD) which isa mobile device in accordance with the invention;

[0026]FIG. 14 illustrates a display of selectable options on the PCD ofFIG. 13;

[0027] FIGS. 15A-15F jointly illustrate a personal electronicinformation card (E-card) in accordance with the invention;

[0028] FIGS. 16A-16C jointly illustrate a business E-card in accordancewith the invention;

[0029]FIG. 17A illustrates an arrangement for conducting a credit cardtransaction using the PCD of FIG. 13;

[0030]FIG. 17B illustrates a display of records of credit cardtransactions on the PCD of FIG. 13;

[0031]FIG. 18 illustrates a functional schematic of the PCD of FIG. 13;

[0032]FIG. 19 illustrates a display arrangement of the PCD of FIG. 13;

[0033]FIG. 20 illustrates an E-card for access to a vehicle;

[0034]FIG. 21 is a flow chart depicting the process whereby a driver isafforded access to the vehicle based on the information on the E-card ofFIG. 20; and

[0035]FIG. 22 illustrates an arrangement whereby car-mail in accordancewith the invention is communicated to and from a vehicle through acommunications network.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0036]FIG. 1 illustrates an arrangement embodying the principles of theinvention, where server 105 is employed to collect and organizeinformation for users of mobile devices. Advantageously, with theinventive arrangement, the burden of a mobile device in maintaining vastquantities of information is mostly shifted onto server 105 and is thussubstantially reduced. In addition, the user information in server 105may be distributed to different mobile devices upon the user's request,thereby facilitating sharing of the same information among the devices.

[0037] In FIG. 1, server 105 includes processor 107, memory 109 andinterfaces 112 and 128. Interface 112, including modem facilities, isused to connect server 105 to a communication network, such as Internet170. Through processor 107, server 105 may communicate with otherservers connected to Internet 170. For example, server 105 may requestlibrary servers to search for particular information items. Memory 109is used to store data collected for the users served by server 105. Theorganization of memory 109 is fully disclosed below.

[0038] As would be appreciated, the processing functions of processor107 are not limited to functions solely thereon, but may be distributedamong other processors connected to processor 107. Similarly, memory 109may also be distributed among other memories and need not be in physicalproximity to processor 107.

[0039] Through interface 128, server 105 may communicate with mobiledevices through wireless communication network 110. These mobile devicesinclude personal communication devices (PCDs) 120 and 130 which arefully described below. It suffices to know for now that the PCD, like aconventional PALM PDA, includes a user interface, touch-screen displayand wireless communication capability. PCDs 120 and 130 may alsocommunicate with each other independent of network 110 using the wellknown Bluetooth technology. The Bluetooth technology was developed tounify the electronics world to allow a variety of cellular phones, PDAsand computers to communicate with one another over short distances in awireless manner. Each PCD also includes a well known GPS device (notshown) for utilizing signals from a well known global positioning system(GPS) for determining the position of the PCD.

[0040] For example, a PCD user may want to visit a fast-food restaurant,e.g., a McDonald's, in the surrounding area, but does not know where oneis located. The user may then through PCD 120 enter a request to server105 to locate the McDonald's in the local area. The location of PCD 120is determined by the aforementioned GPS device therein. Such locationinformation is provided to server 105, along with the search requestincluding search criteria. Server 105 may then search its own librariesand/or other library servers connected to Internet 170. The searchresults are then sorted and filtered by processor 107 before they aretransmitted to PCD 120 via network 110. The search results may includethe address, telephone number and directions to each restaurant within aspecified distance from the user, for example. The user may also expandor refine the search criteria to determine additional information itemsor restrict the amount of information items received. The user mayfurther request server 105 to record the search results for futurereference. Thus, the information items once obtained may be retained inserver 105 for future use, or for distribution to other devices to sharethe information items.

[0041] In FIG. 2 server 192, similar to server 105, serves the user ofPCD 130, although it would be appreciated that server 105 may provideservice for multiple users including the user of PCD 130. Nevertheless,in this example, server 192 is the server for the user of PCD 130, andthe user of PCD 120 may want to share information items, stored inserver 105 for him/her, with the user of PCD 130. To that end, the userof PCD 120 may issue a request through network 110 to server 105 forforwarding a copy of the selected information items to server 192 forthe user of PCD 130. After server 192 receives the information itemsfrom server 105 through Internet 170, server 192 then sends a signal,notifying PCD 130 of the receipt of the items. Upon receiving thenotification, the user of PCD 130 may request server 192 to download thereceived information items thereto immediately or at a later time.Advantageously, the transfer of information items between the users doesnot interfere with their use of PCDs 120 and 130. That is, the users mayfreely utilize the respective PCDs during the information item transferwhich involves servers 105 and 192 only.

[0042]FIG. 3 illustrates some exemplary functions performed by processor107 in server 105, which include function 305 tracking a list of activemobile devices served by server 105, e-mail directory function 308,search function 311, navigation function 314, maps function 317, trafficfunction 321, weather function 324 and directory listings function 327.Specifically, function 305 includes compiling and updating a list ofmobile devices currently in communication with server 105. Function 308includes processing, distributing and maintaining e-mail communicationfor each user served by server 105. Function 311 includes searchinglibrary databases for specified information items. Function 314 includesplanning and providing a route between a given source and destinationpoint. Function 317 includes searching databases for maps givendesignated locations. Function 321 includes obtaining and evaluatingtraffic information items given designated locations. Function 324includes obtaining and evaluating weather information items givendesignated locations. Function 327 includes processing information itemsfor listing in different directories.

[0043] With the above functions, for example, server 105 may be used toplan a route from a source location to a destination location, whichincludes current traffic and weather conditions on the route. The usermay utilize PCD 120 to request server 105 to plan such a route. To thatend, server 105 obtains source and destination locations from the userthrough navigation function 314, accesses maps through maps function317, and extracts information items that are used in formulating theroute. The resulting route and navigation instructions may be displayedon PCD 120, which include specific turn-by-turn directions and mileageindications. The resulting route may be based on the mode oftransportation, e.g., use of a car or public transportation, walking orbiking. Thus, the route is determined depending on such factors asweight restrictions on roads and bridges, the limitations of publictransportation, the presence, or lack of, sidewalks, or bicycle paths.The route determination may also take into account roadblocksartificially instituted by the user to avoid certain areas such as anarea having a high crime rate. In addition, current traffic and weatherconditions may be considered in the route determination by using trafficfunction 321 and weather function 324, respectively.

[0044]FIG. 4 illustrates use of part of memory space of memory 109 inserver 105. In this embodiment, the memory space is divided intopartitions designated to different users, respectively. Each partitionincludes user profiles concerning different personae of the userassociated with the partition. Information items for the user are storedin memory 109 according to the user profiles. For example, informationitems relevant to the personal aspect of the user may be collected andorganized in a personal profile. These information items may includecontact information of people known socially to the user, or the namesof places that are of interest to the user. On the other hand,information items relevant to the business aspect of the user may becollected and organized in a business profile. These information itemsmay include business contact information of clients, vendors, salespersonnel, customer service personnel, and contractors; and informationconcerning restaurants and establishments for entertaining clients,business practices, etc.

[0045] Still other profiles can be established to reflect the user'spersonae with regard to vacationing, travelling or hobbies, e.g., golfand tennis. In the vacation profile, for example, server 105 may recordinformation items regarding restaurants, hotels and areas of interest atdesignated vacation areas that the user has visited or intends to visit.

[0046] Each profile may be further categorized to organize theinformation in a manner that facilitates the presentation of thecollected information. For example, a profile may include categories forrestaurants, hotels, and gas stations. These categories may be furthercategorized into, e.g., restaurant types. As would be appreciated, thecategories of each profile may be specified by the user and can beselected differently for each user profile.

[0047] As shown in FIG. 4, exemplary profiles are created and stored inmemory 109 for a user. These profiles include the user's personalprofile 210, business profile 220 and vacation profile 240. Althoughillustrated as disjoint memory areas, it would be appreciated that thestored information items in each profile may be sequentially stored inmemory 109 and may be tagged appropriately to indicate the placement ofan information item in a particular profile.

[0048] In this illustrated example, personal profile 210 includes filessuch as address book 211, medical records 212, financial records 213,inventory 214, dining 215, current events 215 and storage 217. Addressbook 211 may include information items such as names, addresses, e-mailaddresses, and telephone numbers of persons who are the user's relativesand friends. Medical records 212 may include information items such asthe user's current medical records, current medication and medicationsthat should be avoided. Medical records 212 may also include informationitems concerning persons whom should be contacted in case of anemergency, e.g., doctor, hospital, family members, etc. Financialrecords 213 may include information items such as the user's credit cardnumbers, banking account numbers and balances, names and quantity ofstocks and bonds and purchase price, and retirement account information.Inventory 214 may include information items such as serial numbers orwarranty information or replacement costs on the user's video cameras,digital cameras, lap top computers, television sets, etc. Thisinformation may be useful if a device is lost or stolen. Dining 215 mayinclude information items such as contact information of restaurants forpersonal dining. This file may further be divided into types ofrestaurants such as luxury or fast food. Current events 216 may includeinformation items such as new items from different news sources whichare of interest to the user. For example, news items may be fromdifferent newspapers or sources and may be further divided into type ofnews, such as sports, stocks, front page, etc. Storage 217 may includepersonal messages left by those attempting to contact the user. Messagesmay be left in textual, audio, and/or video format.

[0049] Business profile 220, similar to personal profile 210, includesfiles such as address book 221, dining 222, current events 223, hotels,224, airlines, 226, calendar 226 and storage 227. Address book 221,dining 222 and current events 223 are similar to those described inregard to personal profile 210. Address book 221 may include informationitems for contacting business associates, contractors, vendors,suppliers, etc. Similarly, dining 222 may include information itemsconcerning restaurants for business dining. Current events 223 includebusiness related news items. For example, attorneys may collect articlesfrom law journals, and doctors may collect articles from medicaljournals in this file. Hotels 224 and airlines 225 may include contactinformation for arranging business-related hotels, airlines and autorentals. Further, information items concerning corporate rates ofhotels, airlines and auto rentals may be included in these files aswell. Also included may be user business identification numbers, e.g.,frequent flyer numbers and priority club numbers. Calendar 226 includesinformation items such as meetings, appointments, delivery dates, etc.Similar to storage 217, storage 227 includes business-related messagesin text, audio and/or video format left for the user.

[0050] Vacation profile 240 includes files such as address book 241,dining 242, hotels 243, airlines 244 and storage 245 which pertain tovacations or leisure travel, but are otherwise similar to thosedescribed in regard to personal profile 210 and business profile 220.For example, address book 241 contains information items concerningtravel agents, and contacts at vacation locations; dining 242 containsinformation items concerning restaurants at the vacation locations;hotels 243 contains information items concerning hotels at the vacationlocations; airlines 244 contains information items concerning airlinesand/or auto rentals for traveling to the vacation locations; and storage245 contains messages to the user concerning vacations and leisuretravel. Thus, with the vacation profile, information items that wereobtained about a vacation location, which may be a long time ago, can beeasily recalled.

[0051]FIG. 5 illustrates the partitioning of the memory space of memory109 to contain the profiles of a plurality of users. In thisillustrative example, profiles 210, 220 and 240 are associated with afirst user; profiles 250, 260 and 270 are associated with a second user;profiles 290, 295 and 296 are associated with a third user; and so onand so forth.

[0052] Further illustrated in memory 109 is utility file 135. File 135represents a library of protocol driver programs for known mobiledevices. These driver programs when run on the mobile devices enable themobile devices to communicate messages with server 105 in a moreefficient format. In an initial handshake with server 105, a mobiledevice identifies itself to server 105 pursuant to a common, wirelessmessaging protocol which may be inefficient. After the handshake, server105 selects from file 135 the latest protocol driver program for thatparticular mobile device and downloads same to the mobile device. Thelatter then runs the downloaded driver program, enabling the mobiledevice to efficiently communicate with server 105 pursuant to theprotocol specified by the driver program. Using file 135 to maintain alibrary of driver programs is advantageous in that information items canbe freely shared among mobile devices which may be incompatible with oneanother. For example, if a user wants to share certain information itemsin a first mobile device with a second incompatible mobile device, theuser can simply use the second device to communicate with server 105 tohave the same information items downloaded from server 105 to the seconddevice. The download is efficient through use of the appropriateprotocol driver program provided by server 105, without requiring anyspecial, initial installation on the part of the second device.

[0053]FIG. 6 illustrates a sequence of events when a mobile device,e.g., PCD 120 in this instance, communicates with server 105 after PCD120 is turned on. Specifically, on initial power up, PCD 120 sends at abasic rate an identification (ID) message in a common wireless messagingformat, which identifies its mobile device type and model to server 105,as indicated at step 340. Server 105 processes the received ID message,and searches file 135 for the latest protocol driver programcorresponding to the identified PCD 120, as indicated at step 343.Server 105 at step 346 downloads the latest driver program to PCD 120.At step 349 PCD 120 re-configures its input/output (I/O) interface inaccordance with the driver program. PCD 120 then notifies server 105 ofthe completion of its re-configuration, as indicated at step 352. Suchnotification is sent to server 105 in the format and at the ratepursuant to the new protocol specified by the driver program. Uponreceiving such a notification, server 105 is ready to communicate withPCD 120 using the new protocol.

[0054] As mentioned before, server 105 may search other library serversconnected to Internet 170 for relevant information items. One suchlibrary server, denoted 140, is shown in FIG. 7. In this instance, thedatabase in server 140 is organized and presented in multiple levelsidentified by top-level domains (TLD) in accordance with the InternetDomain Name System (DNS). For example, information items in such adatabase are organized in the “dot org,” “dot net,” and “dot com”domains. It would be appreciated that as the number of TLD namesincreases, the data organization in server 140 can be easily expanded toinclude the added TLD names.

[0055] In this illustrative embodiment, the “dot net” domain, e.g.,Xyellowpages.net 145, includes links to the sites of a network ofregistered businesses. The site of each registered business, e.g.,Gary's Shoes site 172, is listed under Xyellowpages.net 145 and can beaccessed via a hyperlink.

[0056] To provide ease of finding related businesses and Internet sites,Xyellowpages.org 165 collates registered business sites into categories.The categories may include, e.g., entertainment, financial services,medical services, recreation, travel, etc. FIG. 8 illustrates anexemplary page listing business categories under Xyellowpage.org 165that may be displayed on PCD 120. In this illustrative example,Xyellowpage.org groups related business information into specifiedfunctional categories. For example, Automotive category 365 includes allbusinesses related to automotive products; Food, Gas & Beveragescategory 370 includes all businesses related to food, gas and beverages;and Recreation category 380 includes all registered businesses relatedto recreation. As would be appreciated, businesses listed onxyellowpages.org 165 may be included in more than one category.

[0057] Further illustrated are icons keys for exemplary functions ofweather 385, traffic 390 and maps 395. These keys enable the user todirectly access these functions to obtain current weather and trafficconditions and maps. These keys direct server 105 to retrieve thecorresponding information and present it to the user.

[0058] Referring back to FIG. 7, the “dot com” domain, e.g.,Xyellowpages.com 150, includes a collection of pages describing anybusinesses having a TLD as the “dot com.”

[0059]FIG. 9 illustrates a site advertising a selected registeredbusiness, e.g., Gary's Shoes site 172, which may be accessed fromXyellowpages.org 165 under the category “Shoes.” It should be noted thatthis site may also be accessed via a hyperlink under Xyellowpages.net141 as mentioned before. As shown in FIG. 9, site 172 includes contactinformation for the Gary's Shoes business. In addition, site 172 maycontain hyperlinks for accessing more detailed information concerningthe business. In this example, other businesses registered under the“Shoes” category may be quickly accessed by clicking the Next Ad arrow398 or Previous Ad arrow 399. Advantageously, using arrow 398 and arrow399, a user need not return to the page of FIG. 8 to access informationitems of other businesses within the “Shoes” category as would be inprior art where the “drill down” approach is embraced.

[0060] Thus, through server 105, a user may collect information itemsthat have been learned or acquired, which may be needed in the future.Even more detailed knowledge of an acquired information item may beobtained by server 105 accessing searchable libraries. Thus, once aninformation item is learned or acquired, a user may retrieve not onlythe original information item, but also additional informationconcerning the original information item. The retrieved informationitems may be stored in one or more user profiles.

[0061] For example, a user may want to locate a particular business orservice because there is a preference for the desired type of businessor service or there may be a pre-arranged account with the desiredbusiness or service. The name of the desired business or service can beentered or retrieved from the stored information and a library searchcan be initiated to learn the locations of the desired business orservice in a general area. When the locations of the desired businessesor services are known, then the distance, and direction, from thecurrent location to the desired stations can be determined. Hence, theuser profiles concerning selected information item are increased and theknowledge learned is used to confidently plan a route to a desiredbusiness while bypassing other undesired business that provide the samegoods or services. The results of the searched libraries may also bestored into one or more selective user profiles.

[0062] For example, a user may use PCD 120 to request server 105 toprovide information items concerning the location of service facilities,e.g., gas stations, within a given area while the user is in business.In response, server 105 searches libraries of registered businesses,e.g., Xyellowpages.org 165, other libraries connected to Internet 170,and the user business profile, e.g., business profile 220, for the gasstations. FIG. 10 illustrates the results of such a search which arepresented to the user on the touch-screen display of PCD 120. The searchresults which are numerically indexed in column 1000 are sorted bydistance from the user's current position. Such a current position maybe determined using the aforementioned GPS device in PCD 120 andcommunicated to server 105 as part of the search request. It would beappreciated that the list may be sorted on other parameters such asstatus or direction, etc. by touching the corresponding headeridentifier on the screen using, say, a stylus. For example, when theheader identifier STATUS is selected, the gas stations with the “open”status may be displayed ahead of the stations with the “closed” status.

[0063] As shown in FIG. 10, the directions, statuses, names andaddresses, and telephone numbers of the selected gas stations are listedin columns 1035, 1040, 1045 and 1050, respectively. Indicators 1020 arealso displayed, indicating those gas stations which also satisfy theuser business profile in this instance. Arrows 1030 and 1010 indicatethat there are non-viewable listed information items and these arrowsallow the user to scroll the displayed list to display the non-viewableinformation items. The user, having information on the distance,direction and status of the gas stations, may confidently plan the routeto the selected station.

[0064] In an alternative embodiment, based on the table of FIG. 10,server 105 provides a map on the display of PCD 120, with indications ofthe listed gas stations and the current route that the user istraversing, and may also suggest a route to any such gas stationselected by the user, which entails minimal diversion from the user'scurrent route.

[0065] In another alternative embodiment, server 105 may furtherdetermine the status of a selected gas station based on the estimatedtime of arrival at the selected gas station. The estimated time ofarrival may be determined based on the user's current route, speed andposition. In this embodiment, server 105 may determine that the gasstation the user has selected based on current information may no longerbe open at the time of arrival. Server 105 may warn the user of thischange in status.

[0066] In yet another alternative embodiment, server 105 may track theposition of the user and dynamically update traffic and weatherconditions. In this embodiment, as a user traverses a route, server 105may warn the user of changes in traffic patterns and weather conditions.

[0067] It should be noted at this point that the user may provide toserver 105 the names of facilities, such as restaurants, gas stations,shopping malls, department stores, etc., which are encountered orobserved along a route. Server 105 may then correlate the user enteredinformation items with at least one list of restaurants, gas stations,service facilities, etc., to determine more specific information on theuser entered information item. The more specific information on theentered restaurant, gas station, shopping mall or department store maythen be collected and collated into an elected user profile.

[0068] The user may also save the sources of information items ofinterest using bookmarks for repeatedly accessing such sources. Server105 may record where, and in which files, information may be foundwithin searched libraries. For example, universal resource locators(URLs) for accessing web pages may be bookmarked under a selected userprofile. The user may then recall information collected withoutre-entering the address sequence.

[0069] In accordance with another aspect of the invention, server 105also provides a central location for messages that are received ortransmitted by a user. Messages such as e-mail messages and audiomessages received by a user may be stored on server 105 to simplify themessage retrieval process. For example, centralization of e-mailmessages is advantageous as it simplifies the management of e-mailmessages of multiple Internet service provider (ISP) sites with whichthe user is registered. As can be appreciated, a user may have multiplee-mail addresses because the user may have personal e-mail addresseswith one or more ISPs at a home location and an additional e-mailaddress with at least one ISP at a work or a business location. Further,many Internet services provide free e-mail service simply by registeringfor their service. These Internet services use their own e-mail addressto provide updates to news or chat groups the user has expressed aninterest. Hence, the user must access each ISP or Internet serviceindependently to retrieve e-mail messages. When an ISP requiresproprietary software to access the ISP or to process e-mail message, theuser's retrieval of e-mail messages is limited to those times when theuser is logged onto the mail server managed by the ISP. The traditionalway of retrieving e-mail messages by accessing mail servers of differentISPs and Internet services is both time-consuming and cumbersome.

[0070] In accordance with another aspect of the invention, server 105centralizes the e-mail retrieval process. Each ISP or Internet servicereceiving e-mail messages addressed to the user forwards the receivede-mail message to a single e-mail address assigned to the user by server105. Server 105 upon receiving a forwarded e-mail message stores themessage according to a message source identifier and criteriaestablished by the user. Server 105, after storing the message, providesa notification of the received message to the user. The user may thenselectively view e-mail messages from multiple ISP sources withoutaccessing each ISP or Internet service mail server. Furthermore, server105 stores the received e-mail messages according to the user profiles.Thus, messages related to vacation resorts are stored in the uservacation profile, and message related to business are stored in the userbusiness profile. The vacation e-mail messages may be read at leisurewhile the business e-mail messages may be read immediately. Thus, bycentralizing the e-mail retrieval process in server 105, the receivede-mail messages can be pre-sorted and organized in accordance with theuser's selection criteria.

[0071] As is well known, an e-mail message typically includes a sourceidentifier indicating the source of the e-mail message. A sourceidentifier may include an e-mail address of the sender. A user may alsoprovide a keyword to social contacts and other keywords to businesscontacts for incorporation in the “Subject” portion of an e-mailmessage. Such keywords may be used in combination of the sourceidentification tags for prioritizing the messages received.

[0072]FIG. 11 illustrates a flow chart depicting the processing byprocessor 107 of e-mail messages to the user forwarded by ISPs andInternet services to server 105. At step 736, processor 107 reads thesource identifier of a received e-mail message which includes the e-mailaddress of the sender. Processor 107 at step 739 compares the sender'se-mail address with each e-mail address item in the address book of eachof the user profiles, and at step 741 determines whether the comparisonresults in any match. If the sender's e-mail address does not match anyaddress book item of any of the user's profiles, the subject message maybe regarded as an unsolicited message and processor 107 at step 742stores it in a storage area associated with unknown sources.

[0073] In this instance, the user provides keywords (not shown) in eachprofile for prioritizing the received messages having known sources.Each keyword is accorded a different priority. The e-mail message sendermay include one of the keywords, given to him/her by the user earlier,in the “Subject” portion of the message. Thus, in this instance, if thee-mail address of the sender of the subject e-mail matches an item inthe address book of a user profile (e.g., business profile 210),processor 107 checks the “Subject” portion of the message for anykeyword provided in that user profile, as indicated at step 745.Processor 107 at step 748 stores the message in such a user profile(e.g., in storage 227 in profile 210) according to the priority accordedto any keyword found. The received e-mail messages in a profile areorganized with messages having a higher priority are presented first.Apparently, a received message having no keyword in its “Subject” ispresented after the ones having a keyword therein.

[0074] Processor 107 concludes the e-mail message processing bynotifying the user of the receipt of the message, with the identity ofthe associated profile and priority. Through, say, PCD 120 the user,upon receiving the notification, may elect to read the messageimmediately or at a later time. Further, the form of notification may bebased on the priority of the message. For example, the notification ofany received message of the highest priority is immediate with adescription of the message shown on the screen of PCD 120. Such anotification may interrupt any on-going communications being conductedby PCD 120. The notification of a less important message may cause PCD120 to turn on an audible alarm or a message light.

[0075] It should be noted that the above-described technique forprocessing e-mail messages may similarly be applied to the processing ofany types of message, including voice messages where, for example, PCD120 is unavailable to accept a telephone call. In that case, the call isforwarded, through a call-forwarding pre-arrangement, to server 105where processor 107 requests the caller to leave a voice message. Thesource of any such voice message may be identified by a caller IDindicating, among others, the caller's telephone number. In addition,the caller may utter a keyword in the beginning of the voice messageindicating its priority, thereby facilitating the search by processor107 for the keyword in sorting messages.

[0076] To help present on PCD 120 information items downloaded fromserver 105, an event manager is used in PCD 120. The event managerenables a user to selectively receive and sort requested or transmittedinformation items, and it organizes such information items in categoriesselectable through use of drop-down menus. FIG. 12 illustrates one suchdrop-down menu (denoted 800) which is displayed on PCD 120 for userselection. As would be appreciated, the categories in menu 800 may bepre-set or created by the user, which may relate to the files of theuser profiles in server 105. It should be noted that the contents of thepersonal profile are most likely different than the contents of thebusiness profile, even when they have identically-named files therein.For example, Current Events file 223 of business profile 220 containsbusiness-related news items while Current Events file 216 of personalprofile 210 contains general news items. Thus, in this instance aselection of News category 823 in menu 800 affords further userselections of business-related news and general news sub-categories.

[0077]FIG. 13 illustrates PCD 120 which includes keypad 405, displayscreen 410, microphone 425, speaker 420, scroll keys 436, and entry keys437 and 450. Further illustrated are dedicated functional keys, labeledpictorially with an “i” 430, a “cross” 435, a facial profile 440 andcircular arrows 445. These keys are descriptive which represent Help,Emergency, Voice on/off and Repeat functions, respectively. Thesededicated keys may be physical buttons that engage electrical contactswhen depressed. Alternatively, they may be displayed icons or “soft”keys selectable by touching them on screen 410.

[0078] Keypad 405 allows a user to enter alphanumeric characters toenter data or respond to requests. Display screen 410 is used to displaytextual and graphic information and operates to allow data entry orprocess selection. Display 410 may allow data entry or process selectionby using the illustrated drop down menu 465, for example, or by theselection of icons (not shown), which are representative of a processingfunction or category, or by writing, or printing, alpha-numericcharacters on the display face (not shown). Microphone 425 and speaker420 are used to transmit and receive audio information, such as speechor music. Process selection may also be performed by issuing a verbalcommand entered through microphone 425.

[0079] Scroll keys 436 are used to scroll through a list of informationitems, such as the illustrated functional categories in pull-down menu465. A selected information item may then be activated, to perform aprocess, or to be viewed, by depressing left key 450, for example. Inthis instance, electronic information card (E-card) category 480 isselected (indicated by dashed-line enclosure) in drop-down menu 465.Information items associated with E-card category 480 may then be viewedby depressing left entry key 450, which are described below. Informationitems associated with a category may also be selected by touching thecategory on screen 410 using a pointing device. A pointing device may bea pencil, a pen, a stylus or an infrared, or visible light, laserpointer. Further still, the information items of a selected category mayalso be viewed by maintaining contact with a displayed icon, or word,that represents the category, for an extended time, or by double-tappingthe displayed icon, or word, within a finite time. The selection ofcategories may also be performed by verbally reciting the category nameinto microphone 425 and the information items within the selectedcategory may also be viewed by verbally reciting the information itemname.

[0080]FIG. 13 further illustrates right entry button 437, which may bepressed to view properties of a category selected. For example, theproperties may provide data concerning the number of information itemsin a category, the number of unread information items in the category,or when the last information item was added to the category, etc.

[0081] Help key 430 allows access to information concerning quickstarting procedures, e.g., an owner's manual, a how-to videodemonstration, and a voice script that is used to operate telephoneaspects of PCD 120. These help tips provide sufficient information forthe user to operate the device. This information provides just enoughinformation, i.e., just-in-time-learning, to enable the user to operatethe device. Emergency key 435 provides access to emergency numbers andinformation that can transmitted to a parties named in an emergency filein a personal profile. The emergency file may be included in medicalrecords 215 of personal profile 210 illustrated in FIG. 4. Activation ofEmergency key 435 causes server 105 to contact the named emergencycontact people. Further, medical records information items such asmedical history, current medication history, and medications to beavoided may also be transmitted. Voice on/off key 440 provides the userwith the capability to mute messages that may be audibly expressed byPCD 120. This muting function is useful to prevent audio messages frominterfering with a conversation that is in progress. Repeat key 445provides the user with the capability of repeating previous messages oractions that were performed.

[0082] Digital camera 460 is also included in PCD 120. Camera 460 iscapable of capturing an image that can then be stored locally ortransmitted to server 105 for storage in a selected user profile, e.g.,vacation profile, or for transmission over Internet 170 to anotherparty. Camera 460 may also transmit digital images synchronized withaudio data to provide real-time audio/visual data or may transmit audiodata sequentially with digital images. Images from camera 460 mayfurther be integrated with additional information items, such asreal-time clock or GPS time/positional data to provide time/locationtagging of an image. Such time/position tagging may be used toauthenticate the image.

[0083] Continuing the above example, once E-card category 480 isselected, PCD 120 displays on screen 410 further options for selection.FIG. 14 illustrates such options. In this instance, information itemsassociated with category 480 are divided into personal and businesssub-categories, which correspond to personal and business profiles inserver 105. As shown in FIG. 14, included under the personalsub-category is option 406, entitled “John Doe,” the name of the user inthis instance. In addition, included under the business sub-category areoptions 407, 408 and 409, entitled “Ford Dealership,” “GM Dealership”and “Mercedes Dealership,” respectively.

[0084] In this example, the user selects John Doe option 406. Inresponse, PCD 120 displays on screen 410 information item 500 whichrepresents a personal E-card of John Doe. FIG. 15A illustrates such adisplay screen including E-card 500. This E-card contains textual, audioand/or graphic information items pertaining to John Doe, which aresorted and organized in tabbed records. Illustratively, these tabbedrecords include Name 510, Numbers 520, Attachments 530, Credit Card 540,Signature 550 and Business Card 560. E-card 500 is shown by default withName record 510 superimposed on other records. However, the tabs forthese other records are displayed for selection. As shown in FIG. 15A,Name record 510 contains identification information concerning the user,including a picture or logo identifying the user.

[0085] Further illustrated in FIG. 15A are Delete key 505, Edit key 506and Cancel key 507. Delete key 505 allows the user to delete informationitems in E-card 500 from the user profile in server 105. Edit key 506enables the user to edit selected entries in E-card 500. Cancel key 507allows the user to end the viewing of E-card 500.

[0086]FIG. 15B illustrates Numbers record 520 containing contactinformation concerning the user. As shown in FIG. 15B, record 520includes the user's telephone numbers for home (hm) and business, e-mailaddress, PCD address, etc. In addition, information items in record 520may be selected for transmission to another party. For example, bychecking boxes 516, 517, 518 and 519, the user may transmit thecorresponding information items by selecting icon 503 in FIG. 15A whichrepresents a send key in this instance. The receiving party would thenreceive the user's home, cellular, pager and PCD numbers. The format ofthe received information items would correspond to a comparable E-cardformat on the receiving party's PCD. Hence, the receiving party isrelieved of the burden of re-entering the received information itemsinto a different device or organization structure. Similarly, the usermay select some or all the items on each E-card record for transmissionto another party.

[0087]FIG. 15C illustrates Attachments record 530 having displayed iconstherein which represent information items. Record 530 may include, e.g.,textual instructions and graphic images of directions from a sourcelocation to a destination or may include notes for personal use.Information items in record 530 may be transmitted to another party byselecting the corresponding displayed icons, followed by selection oficon 503 to send the information item. As would be appreciated, a usermay select information items on each record of E-card 500 and transmitall of the selected information items using a single selection or clickof icon 503.

[0088]FIG. 15D illustrates Credit Card record 540 containing the user'scredit card information. Using a E-card to record the user credit cardinformation is advantageous as it allows the user to electronically payfor purchases without revealing important personal financial data suchas the credit card number at the point of sale. The methodology ofconducting a secure transaction using record 540 is fully describedbelow. E-card 500 may further record the transaction date and amount andthe merchant's name after the transaction is conducted. This recordationof the purchase is advantageous in tracking and reconciling expenseseach month.

[0089]FIG. 15E illustrates Signature record 550 containing the user'sdigital signature, which may be used to digitally commit the user tocontractual obligations. That is, the user's digital signature may betransmitted to a receiving party to obligate the user to terms andconditions of a contract to buy a car, a house, etc.

[0090]FIG. 15F illustrates Business Card record 560 includinginformation items such as the user's business name, address, phonenumber, title, etc. which, like other information items, aretransmissible to other parties.

[0091]FIG. 16A illustrates business E-card 600 concerning a Mercedesdealership. Similar to information items in E-card 500, informationitems in E-card 600 are sorted and organized tabbed records. As shown inFIG. 16A, these records include Name 610, Numbers 620, and Attachment630. Name record 610 includes identification information concerning theMercedes dealership, including the Mercedes logo.

[0092]FIG. 16B illustrates Numbers record 620 providing contactinformation concerning the Mercedes dealership.

[0093]FIG. 16C illustrates Attachments record 630 including suchattachments as video file 633 promoting the Mercedes dealership, andtext and graphics file 635 describing the latest models of Mercedesvehicles.

[0094] The methodology of conducting a transaction using Credit Cardrecord 540 will now be described. For example, referring to FIG. 17A,the user in this instance wants to pay by credit card for a purchase atpoint-of-sale (POS) terminal 710. The user uses PCD 120 to access CreditCard record 540. By selecting icon 503, a signal containing theinformation in record 540 is transmitted over wireless communicationsnetwork 110 to server 105. In return, processor 107 in server 105elicits from the user his/her personal identification number (PIN) toverify that he/she is the authorized credit card user. In addition,processor 107 elicits from the user the purchase amount, and atransaction identification (ID) number which is provided by POS terminal710. Such a transaction ID number identifies, among others, POS terminal710, the merchant (e.g., Gary's Shoes) and the purchase type (e.g., shoepurchase). Upon receiving the PIN, purchase amount and transaction IDnumber from PCD 120, processor 107 compares the received PIN with thePIN which is provided earlier by the user in a service registration andstored in personal profile 210. If the received PIN matches the storedPIN, processor 107 causes server 105 to transmit through a secure linkover Internet 170 to payment authority system 700 a request forauthorization of payment. Such a request includes the received creditcard information, purchase amount and transaction ID number. Paymentauthority system 700 then processes the request. Based on thetransaction ID number which, in part, identifies POS terminal 710,system 700 transmits to POS terminal 710 a message confirming or denyingthe payment of the purchase amount. At the same time, system 700transmits a second message to server 105 for the user record. Thissecond message indicates the payment confirmation or denial, and maycontain information concerning date and time of the payment confirmationor denial, the purchase amount involved, and the identity of themerchant and purchase type derived by system 700 from the transaction IDnumber. Upon receiving such a second message, if the payment isconfirmed, processor 107 stores a purchase confirmation record inpersonal profile 210. Otherwise, if the payment is denied, processor 107stores a purchase denial record in profile 210. The user is informed ofthe payment confirmation or denial by the POS terminal 710, or bypolling server 105 through PCD 120.

[0095] It should be noted that the above-described methodology is notlimited to use of a PIN to verify the identity of the user. Othersecurity measures may also be implemented which include use of digitalcamera 460 in PCD 120 to transmit an image of the user to server 105 forverification purposes. It will be appreciated that fingerprint images,retinal or iris scans may similarly be used.

[0096] In an alternative embodiment, for security reasons, server 105maintains a POS database which provides the GPS coordinates identifyingthe location of each POS terminal, including terminal 710. Thus, inconducting the above purchase, processor 107 in server 105 may alsorequest PCD 120 to provide the GPS coordinates identifying the currentlocation of PCD 120. Such GPS coordinates are then provided by theaforementioned GPS device in PCD 120. Based on the above-describedtransaction ID number which in part identifies POS terminal 710,processor 107 searches the POS database for the GPS coordinates ofterminal 710. Processor 107 then determines the distance between PCD 120and POS terminal 710. If such a distance exceeds a predetermined amount,processor 107 immediately terminates the processing of the transaction,assuming that the user conducts the purchase at the POS location andthus should not be away from POS terminal 710 for more than thepredetermined distance.

[0097] Still other security measures may be instituted using theInternet protocol (IP) address of server 105. In that case, paymentauthority system 700 may evaluate the IP address of server 105transmitting the payment request and would not authorize payment if therequest does not come from the IP address of server 105 associated withthe user. The user's digital signature in Signature record 550 may beused in a similar manner. The digital signature may be authenticatedbased on the IP address of server 105 forwarding the digital signature.This authentication is advantageous as a digital signature that did notcome from the IP address of a server associated with the user would notbind the user to the terms of a contract or sale.

[0098] In accordance with another aspect of the invention, server 105also incorporates the GPS coordinates of POS terminal 710 in thepurchase confirmation and denial records. Alternatively, the GPScoordinates of POS terminal 710 is translated to an actual location(e.g., the address) of the premises on which the purchase is conducted,and the actual location is made part of the purchase confirmation ordenial record. Such translation may be achieved using a well known GPSdatabase in server 105 or in another server to which server 105 hasaccess. Thus, in this embodiment, when the user uses PCD 120 to pollserver 105 for purchase confirmation records stored in server 105,server 105 returns to PCD 120 a PURCHASE CONFIRMATION RECORDS screen ondisplay 410, which is illustrated in FIG. 17B. At this screen, the useris afforded options to review selected purchase confirmation records.For example, the user may specify at option 1725 the number of mostrecent records to review, thereby providing just-in-time information onthe user's purchases. In this example, however, the user is interestedin reviewing the records within a particular period. Thus, the user inthis instance enters the start date of the period at option 1732 and theend date thereof at option 1735. As a result, the purchase confirmationrecords within the specified period are displayed in chronologicalorder. For example, record 1741 is the first record on the start date,and record 1743 is the last record on the end date. Each record containsmultiple fields. For example, record 1743 contains date field 1751identifying the date of the purchase confirmation, merchant name andaddress field 1753 identifying the merchant and its address, purchasetype field 1755 identifying the type of purchase, and transaction amountfield 1757 identifying the transaction amount. In addition, at the endof the list of records, TOTAL field 1761 indicates the sum of thetransaction amounts in the listed records. Advantageously, with theinformation in field 1761, the user can continually keep track of theexpenses resulting from purchases.

[0099]FIG. 18 illustrates a functional schematic of PCD 120 when“docked” or connected to an automobile system to enhance itsfunctionality. Such a connection may alternatively be a remoteconnection between PCD 120 and the automobile system relying on wirelessor Bluetooth communications, for example. One such automobile system isdescribed, e.g., in U.S. Pat. No. 6,009,355 (“the '355 patent”) issuedDec. 28, 1999 to Obradovich et al., which is hereby incorporated byreference. As shown in FIG. 18, this functional schematic is dividedinto three levels. First level 802 includes processing of informationitems that are of importance to the user in real-time or near-real-time.For example, the first level functions include emergency function 805,System Settings function 810, Clock function 815, GPS function 820, Helpfunction 825 (as activated by Help key 430), Volume control 830, Repeatoperation 835 (as activated by Repeat key 445), Voice on/off 840 (asactivated by Voice key 440), Application Bar 845 and Menu function 850which require real-time or near-real-time operation.

[0100] Second level 860 includes processing of information items whichare of secondary importance to the user which, e.g., relates tooperation of accessories. For example, the second level functions, whichare managed by Application Bar 845 and Menu function 850, includeVehicle Settings function 865 comprising, e.g., window control, seatposition control, mirror adjustment, etc., Audio/Video Player function870, E-card Viewer 875, E-mail Viewer 880, Xyellowpages function 885,interfaces with Mobile Devices 890, Quick Tips function 895, Navigationfunction 900, Phone function 905 and Climate Control function 910. Thirdlevel 920 includes user interface functions such as Keyboard commands925 and Cancel commands 930.

[0101]FIG. 19 illustrates a second embodiment of display screen 410 ofPCD 120 which is particularly advantageous when PCD 120 is connected tothe aforementioned automobile system. In this embodiment, screen 410provides display area 940, programmable displayed icon segment 950, anddisplayed icons including Help 430, Emergency 435, Voice on/off 440 andRepeat 445 which are described before. Display area 940 may also be usedto input information items into PCD 120. Display area 940 operates toallow menu-driven or screen sensitive (touch-screen) input.

[0102] Segment 950 includes a sliding window accommodating programmabledisplayed icons which may be created by the user. Illustrated throughthe sliding window in this instance are selectable icons for anavigation function, phone function and climate control function.Additional icons may be brought into view in the window by touchingRight-Shift key 955 or Left-Shift key 960. In addition, signal strengthbars 980 on screen 410 indicate the strength of the received wirelesscommunication signal. Navigation icon 985, an alternative to that insegment 950, is also displayed for selection of the navigation function.

[0103] In accordance with yet another aspect of the invention, a mobiledevice, e.g., a PCD, may be used to access a vehicle by a temporarydriver who wants to borrow the vehicle from a friend or a car rentalcompany for a limited time period. For example, the temporary driverwhen renting a vehicle may use PCD 130 to communicate in a wirelessmanner with a remote car rental agent using PCD 120. The temporarydriver specifies the desired size and model of the rental vehicle, therental period and other preferences through PCD 130 via text and/orvoice media. Based on such information, the agent finds an availablevehicle satisfying the desired specifications in a database in a hostcomputer which is administered and maintained by the car rental companyand to which PCD 120 is docked or connected. The agent then invokes aVehicle Access page in the form of an E-card on PCD 120 concerning theavailable vehicle.

[0104]FIG. 20 illustrates such a Vehicle Access E-Card, denoted 2001,where the available vehicle is identified by a vehicle identificationnumber (VIN) 2003. Based on the information provided by the temporarydriver, the agent enters the requested Start Date (denoted 2005) and EndDate (denoted 2007) of the rental period, and the Mileage Limit (denoted2009) during the rental period, e.g., 500 miles in this instance. Inaddition, the agent may also enter Geographic Limit (denoted 2011)within which the vehicle is allowed to travel. In this instance, theagent enters CA. That is, the vehicle is not allowed to travel beyondthe borders of the state of California. To that end, the host computerprovides the GPS coordinates defining the California state and such GPScoordinate information is incorporated in E-Card 2001. Given thetemporary driver's preferences, options which are available in thesubject vehicle may accordingly be selected. The car rental company maycharge a fee in addition to the basic rental fee for each of suchoptions to be selected. Thus, for example, depending how much thetemporary driver wants to spend, the agent at option 2013 may grant thedriver limited or full access to the audiovisual entertainment unitsavailable in the subject vehicle. In this instance, the temporary driveris granted full access to such entertainment units. Otherwise, iflimited access is granted, the agent has to further specify thoseentertainment units to which the driver can have access. For example,the driver may be afforded access to a CD player, TV or game unit,besides a radio. Similarly, the driver may or may not be granted accessto the phone or navigation capabilities also available in the subjectvehicle.

[0105] It should be noted that the above options are for illustrativepurposes. Other options may include a weight limit option whereby theagent may specify the limit of additional weight to be put on thesubject vehicle, thereby limiting the number of passengers and/or amountof cargo that the temporary driver can transport in the vehicle. Theamount of the additional fee may vary with the weight limit value. Ofcourse, where the weight limit is an option, the automobile system inthe subject vehicle, similar to that described in the aforementioned'355 patent, would be capable of sensing the vehicle weight anddetermining the increase in the weight during the rental period. In theevent that the weight increase exceeds the weight limit, the automobilesystem causes disablement of the vehicle, e.g., a cutoff of the gasolinesupply in the vehicle. Still other options may include whether thedriver can have Internet access, or access to the vehicle's enginecompartment, glove compartment, trunk, etc.

[0106] After the car rental agent provides the above rental informationonto E-card 2001, the aforementioned host computer generates an accesscode for the driver to identify himself/herself when the driver picks upthe vehicle. Such an access code is also incorporated in E-card 2001 forlater verification which, in particular, is incorporated in a header ofE-card 2001. Also incorporated in the header is an E-cardidentification, indicating that E-card 2001 is a vehicle access E-card.The host computer transmits all of the E-card information to theautomobile system in the subject vehicle via a wireless communicationsconnection, and the automobile system is accordingly programmed based onthe received information.

[0107] The agent then communicates via text or voice media to the driverthe access code; and the description and location of the vehicle to bepicked up. Preferably, the driver records the access code and thevehicle description and location information somewhere other than PCD130 in the event that the driver should lose PCD 130, and anunauthorized driver may then be able to gain access to the subjectvehicle using the recorded information.

[0108] For security reasons, in this particular illustrative embodiment,all of the information on E-card 2001, except the aforementioned E-cardidentification, is encrypted using a private key stored in the hostcomputer, in accordance with a well known cryptographic methodology. Onesuch cryptographic methodology is the RSA methodology, named after itsdevelopers, Rivest, Shamir and Adleman. For details on the RSAmethodology, one may refer to: R. Rivest et al., “A Method for ObtainingDigital Signatures and Public Key Cryptosystems,” Communications of theACM, Vol. 21, No. 2, February 1978. The RSA methodology involves apublic key algorithm which uses a private key and a public key for dataencryption. Unlike a private key which is securely protected from thepublic, a public key can be published and made known to the public. Thekeys for the RSA algorithm are generated mathematically, and arecomputational inverses to each other. The success of the RSA methodologydepends on the use of very large numbers for the keys.

[0109] In an alternative embodiment, the E-card information may becryptographically signed, creating a digital signature forauthenticating the E-card information.

[0110] It will be appreciated that a person skilled in the art mayutilize other feasible cryptographic methodology, e.g., the digitalencryption standard (DES), Triple-DES, Diffie-Helhman or pretty goodprivacy (PGP) methodology to achieve the above data encryption orauthentication, instead.

[0111] It suffices to know for now that the public key corresponding tothe aforementioned private key is stored in the automobile system in thesubject vehicle. Continuing the above example, the car rental agentcauses transmission of the encrypted E-card information, along with theE-card identification, from PCD 120 to PCD 130. The latter stores thereceived information in a Vehicle Access record therein.

[0112] When the temporary driver locates and picks up the subjectvehicle, the driver may use PCD 130 to transmit the Vehicle Accessrecord therein to the automobile system of the subject vehicle throughwireless or Bluetooth communications. Upon receiving the Vehicle Accessrecord, the automobile system recognizes that the record concerns accessto the subject vehicle based on the E-card identification information inthe record, as indicated at step 2101 in FIG. 21. In response, theautomobile system at step 2104 decrypts the encrypted E-card informationin the record using the public key stored in the automobile system, inaccordance with the aforementioned cryptographic methodology. Theautomobile system is then in possession of the plaintext informationconcerning E-card 2001, which includes the access code previouslyassigned to the temporary driver. The automobile system at step 2107elicits from the temporary driver the corresponding access code toensure that he/she is an authorized driver. After the drivercommunicates the access code, previously received from the car rentalagent, to the automobile system using PCD 130, the automobile system atstep 2109 determines whether such an access code from the driver matchesthe access code within the E-card information. If they do not match, thedriver is denied access, as indicated at step 2112. Otherwise, if theymatch, the automobile system at step 2114 verifies that the currentpick-up date is within the rental period, i.e., between the start dateand end date on E-card 2001. At step 2117, the automobile systemenforces the mileage limit, geographic limit and time limit, andactivates audiovisual, phone and navigation options specified on E-card2001. In particular, the mileage limit is enforced with the aid of anodometer in the vehicle which provides a mileage reading to theautomobile system. When the mileage consumed by the driver approachesthe mileage limit, warnings may be given by the automobile system to thedriver at different stages, e.g., at 50 miles before the limit, 20 milesbefore the limit, and 10 miles before the limit. The warnings may becommunicated to the driver via text or voice media through a userinterface in the automobile system which includes a display and audiofacilities. Each warning indicates how many miles left before the limit,and includes information for contacting a car rental agent to extend themileage limit. In another embodiment, the automobile system stores in amemory telephone numbers of car rental agents. At the last warning, theautomobile system initiates a call to one of the agents through itsphone interface. The contacted agent can then communicate with thedriver to discuss any extension of the mileage limit. In yet anotherembodiment, the automobile system stores in the memory an access numberof the aforementioned car rental company host computer. At the lastwarning, the automobile system establishes a communication connectionwith the host computer using the access number. The driver may thenutilize the user interface to communicate on-line with the host computerregarding any extension of the mileage limit. Otherwise, if no mileagelimit is extended despite the warnings, as soon as the automobile systemdetects any excessive mileage consumed by the driver, it would causedisablement of the vehicle.

[0113] Similarly, the geographic limit is enforced with the aid of a GPSdevice in the vehicle which provides the GPS coordinates identifying thecurrent vehicle position to the automobile system. Successive warningsare given to the driver as the vehicle approaches the borders of thegeographic area (e.g., California in this instance) defined by the GPScoordinates within the E-card information. If the driver ignores suchwarnings and does not extend the geographic limit, as soon as theautomobile system detects that the current vehicle position is outsidethe geographic limit, it causes disablement of the vehicle. Moreover,the time limit is enforced with the aid of a clock in the vehicle whichprovides time information to the automobile system. Successive warningsare given to the driver as the current time approaches the end of therental period. If the driver ignores such warnings, and does not extendthe rental period, as soon as the automobile system detects that therental period is over, it causes disablement of the vehicle.

[0114] The automobile system at step 2119 unlocks the doors of thesubject vehicle to allow access thereto by the temporary driver.However, the automobile system may provide, through its display, to thedriver an access key code for subsequent re-entry to the vehicle.Alternatively, the access key code may be communicated by the automobilesystem directly to the driver's PCD 130. The driver may then use PCD 130to transmit the access key code to the automobile system to re-enter thevehicle. For the security reasons, the access key code may be changedfrom time to time. To that end, the automobile system incorporates a keycode generator for generating access key codes in a random orpseudo-random fashion. As soon as the driver produces a valid access keycode to re-enter the vehicle, the automobile system operates the keycode generator to provide the driver with a different access key codefor subsequent re-entry.

[0115] In accordance with yet another aspect of the invention, thetemporary driver may also be provided with an electronic car-mailfeature provided by the automobile system in the subject vehicle toreceive his/her e-mail and other messages. Again, the car rental companymay charge for this feature as part of the car rental fee. In order tofully appreciate the car-mail feature, the concept of car-mail will nowbe described.

[0116] Like a conventional e-mail message, a car-mail message isformatted in accordance with well known protocols, e.g., the well knownmail transfer protocol and transmission control protocol/Internetprotocol (TCP/IP), and it may be delivered by conventional mail serversvia a communications network such as the Internet. However, unlikee-mail whose address identifies a person for personal communications,the car-mail has an address identifying the vehicle itself. As thecar-mail address appertains to, or specifically associated with, thevehicle, rather than a person, e.g., the temporary driver,communications with the vehicle using car-mail is intact, regardless ofwho the actual vehicle user is.

[0117] A typical e-mail address is in the format of <user-id>@<domain>,e.g., “jsmith@aol.com”. As is well known, the <user-id> part before the“@” sign, e.g., “jsmith”, identifies the e-mail user, e.g., Joe Smith.The <domain> part after the “@” sign, e.g., “aol.com”, identifies theaccess mail server, e.g., an American Online server connected to theInternet, providing the e-mail service for Joe Smith in this instance.However, a car-mail address is in the format of <vehicle-id>@<domain>.In this instance, the <vehicle-id> part identifies the subject vehiclewhich is assigned by the aforementioned car rental company hostcomputer. The <domain> part may represent a predetermined access mailserver connected to the Internet for serving the car-mail needs ofvehicles. For illustrative purposes, the <domain> part may be“vehicle.com” in this example.

[0118] The assigned car-mail address is communicated by the hostcomputer to the automobile system in the vehicle and is stored in amemory in the automobile system. The car-mail address remains unchangedduring the vehicle rental period. The automobile system includescar-mail communications subsystem 2203 in FIG. 22. Subsystem 2203further includes transceiver 2205, modem 2209, and car-mail processorand memory 2211. Transceiver 2205 includes, e.g., a wireless phone inthe subject vehicle, for transmitting and receiving information viawireless network 2213, e.g., the well known advanced mobile phoneservice (AMPS) network, digital AMPS network, personal communicationsservice (PCS) network, global system for mobile communications (GSM)network, paging network, hybrid personal communications network (HPCN),satellite network, microwave network, milliwave network, etc. Modem 2209is used for modulating and demodulating carriers carrying car-mail datato and from data channels, e.g., cellular digital packet data (CDPD)channels, in wireless network 2213. To that end, processor and memory2211 is used to compose and present car-mail messages in the subjectvehicle through a user interface in the automobile system. Fortransmitting and receiving car-mail messages, transceiver 2205establishes a dial-up connection through wireless network 2213 topredetermined access server 2222 which, among others, serve car-mail onInternet 170. It should be noted at this point that server 2222 may notbe the only one access server on the Internet serving car-mail. It willbe appreciated that more access servers similar to server 2222 aregeographically distributed for effective communications of car-mail.

[0119] Continuing the above example, after the car rental company hostcomputer assigns the car-mail address for use in the subject vehicleduring the rental period, the car rental agent uses PCD 120 tocommunicate via text or voice media to the temporary driver the assignedcar-mail address, along with other information described before. Withthis car-mail address, the car rental company can continuallycommunicate information in the form of car-mail with the vehicle, asopposed to a particular person as in prior art where a personal e-mailis used. Such information may concern vehicle conditions and drivingsafety tips, and may include the aforementioned warnings, advisories andemergency information directed not only to the temporary driver, butalso to any other users, e.g., passengers, of the vehicle. In addition,the temporary driver and other vehicle users may use the car-mailaddress as a conventional e-mail address and give it out to people whowant to communicate with them during the rental period.

[0120] In the case where the temporary driver uses server 105 to collectand sort his/her e-mail messages in a manner described before, thetemporary driver may use PCD 130 to communicate to server 105 theforwarding car-mail address such that any e-mail messages directed tohim/her during the rental period can be seamlessly forwarded to theautomobile system for his/her review and response.

[0121] The foregoing merely illustrates the principles of the invention.It will thus be appreciated that those skilled in the art will be ableto devise numerous other systems which embody the principles of theinvention and are thus within its spirit and scope.

[0122] For example, although server 105 and PCD 120, as disclosed, areembodied in the form of various discrete functional blocks, each of theserver and PCD could equally well be embodied in an arrangement in whichthe functions of any one or more of those blocks or indeed, all of thefunctions thereof, are realized, for example, by one or moreappropriately programmed processors or devices.

We claim:
 1. A method for use in a server serving a user of acommunication device, the method comprising: maintaining a plurality ofprofiles of the user, which reflect different personae of the user;receiving, through a communication network, requests for informationfrom the communication device; collecting requested information from oneor more sources; storing the collected information in accordance withthe profiles; and providing, over the communication network, selectedinformation to the communication device.
 2. The method of claim 1wherein the profiles include a personal profile.
 3. The method of claim1 wherein the profiles include a business profile.
 4. The method ofclaim 1 wherein the profiles include a vacation profile.
 5. The methodof claim 1 wherein the one or more sources are connected to theInternet.
 6. A communication arrangement comprising: a firstcommunication device and a second communication device; a first serverstoring information which is accessible by the first communicationdevice; a second server storing information which is accessible by thesecond communication device; a transmitter in the first communicationdevice for transmitting, through a first communication network, arequest for selected information to the second communication device, theselected information being stored in the second server; a transmitter inthe second communication device, responsive to the request, fortransmitting a second request for transferring the selected informationfrom the second server to the first server, the second server, inresponse to the second request, transferring the selected information tothe first server through a second communication network; and a receiverin the first device for receiving from the first server a notificationconcerning a receipt of the selected information.
 7. The arrangement ofclaim 6 wherein the first communication network includes a wirelessnetwork.
 8. The arrangement of claim 6 wherein the second communicationnetwork includes at least part of an Internet.
 9. A method for use in aserver for communication with at least first and second communicationdevices through a communication network, the first and secondcommunication devices being of different types, the method comprising:receiving, through the communication network, from the firstcommunication device information identifying at least a type of thecommunication device, the information being communicated in accordancewith a first protocol, the first protocol being used by both the firstand second communication devices for communicating to the serverinformation concerning the respective types thereof; and providing,through the communication network, a program to the first communicationdevice based on the received information, the program causing the firstcommunication device to be reconfigured, the reconfigured firstcommunication device communicating with the server in accordance with asecond protocol, which is not compatible with the second communicationdevice.
 10. The method of claim 9 wherein at least one of the first andsecond communication devices is a mobile device.
 11. A method fororganizing e-mail messages, each e-mail message including a sourceidentification indicating a source of the e-mail message, the methodcomprising: providing a plurality of files, which are associated withcollections of source identifications, respectively; receiving an e-mailmessage; reading the source identification of the received e-mailmessage; determining whether the read source identification is identicalto a source identification in one of the collections; and when it isdetermined that the read source identification is identical to a sourceidentification in one of the collections, including the received e-mailmessage in the file associated with the collection having the identicalsource identification therein.
 12. The method of claim 11 wherein thereceived e-mail incorporates an indicator in a predetermined portionthereof, the indicator indicating a priority in presenting the receivede-mail.
 13. A method for use in a system for conducting a transaction,the system including a server and a payment subsystem, the methodcomprising: transmitting to the server first information for verifyingan identity of a party of the transaction, second information concerningthe transaction, and a transaction amount; verifying by the server theidentity of the party based on the first information; transmitting bythe server the second information and the transaction amount to thepayment subsystem for authorizing payment of the transaction amount whenthe identity of the party is verified; and transmitting by the subsystema transaction record to the server when the payment of the transactionamount is authorized.
 14. The method of claim 13 wherein the secondinformation includes information identifying a second party of thetransaction.
 15. The method of claim 13 wherein the transaction includesa credit card transaction.
 16. The method of claim 13 wherein the firstinformation includes a personal identification number (PIN).
 17. Amethod for use in a system for completing a transaction, the systemincluding a device, and a terminal which provides transactioninformation, the method comprising: providing by the device secondinformation identifying a location of the device, and transactioninformation which includes third information identifying a location ofthe terminal; based on the second and third information determiningwhether the location of the device is within a predetermined distance ofthe location of the terminal; and completing the transaction when it isdetermined that the location of the device is within a predetermineddistance of the location of the terminal.
 18. The method of claim 17further comprising generating a transaction record, wherein thetransaction record includes an address of a party of the transaction,the address being derived from the third information.
 19. A method forgaining access to a vehicle using a communication device, thecommunication device storing therein a selected access code andinformation concerning pre-selected options for configuring differentaspects of the vehicle, the method comprising: eliciting an access codefrom a user of the communication device; determining whether the accesscode elicited from the user corresponds to the selected access code; andallowing the user to gain access to the vehicle and configuring thedifferent aspects of the vehicle in accordance with the pre-selectedoptions when it is determined that the access code elicited from theuser corresponds to the selected access code.
 20. The method of claim 19wherein the different aspects of the vehicle include a time limit withinwhich the vehicle can be used by the user.
 21. The method of claim 19wherein the different aspects of the vehicle include a geographic limitwithin which the vehicle can be used by the user.
 22. The method ofclaim 19 wherein the different aspects of the vehicle includeconfigurable devices in the vehicle.
 23. An electronic card arrangementviewable on a display comprising: a plurality of electronic cardscontaining information concerning an entity, a first one of theelectronic cards being shown on the display, along with at least one tabincluding data identifying a second one of the electronic cards, the tabbeing selectable to show the second electronic card instead of the firstelectronic card on the display.
 24. The arrangement of claim 23 whereinone of the electronic cards contains audio information concerning theentity.
 25. The arrangement of claim 23 wherein one of the electroniccards contains video information concerning the entity.